Apps designed to make TikTok videos better stormed App Store in 2019

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TikTok 1
It's all about TikTok these days. And the apps that help make it what it is.
Photo: TikTok

TikTok is the hottest app going right now, and plenty of other developers are trying to hitch their wagon to TikTok’s proverbial star by building apps that function as “enhancements” to the mega-popular video editing and sharing app.

According to new data from app analytics platform Sensor Tower, of the 480 million installs generated by 2019’s top 20 new apps, almost 38% were video and photo editors and sticker apps designed to enhance the experience of using TikTok or Instagram. That’s quite the ecosystem!

TikTok had an insanely successful year, with almost 2 billion installs across iOS and Android. It therefore makes total sense that developers in a crowded market would look at that example, and try and capture a bit of what makes it so successful.

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A look at the year’s top new apps.
Photo: Sensor Tower

Rise of the TikTok sidekicks

Sensor Tower notes that video editor MV Master was the number one most downloaded new app of 2019. (Note: that’s new app, meaning that the likes of TikTok and Insta weren’t eligible.) MV Master is a multimedia app that offers basic editing features for free. It can be used for creating video projects for Instagram story, TikTok, and more. MV Master racked up a total of 61 million installs last year. However, the overwhelming majority of these downloads were on Android.

Six such “sidekick” apps stormed into the top 20. This represents almost one-third of the total list. Others included video editor Jianying Vlog, sticker app Sticker.ly; photo editor PickU, VStatus, and MBit Music. As Sensor Tower notes:

“The six apps combined for 180.2 million total installs. While the top 20 new apps of 2018 included five offerings complementary to existing social apps, their combined installs accounted for just 18.8 percent of the overall list’s downloads.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Disney+ was the second most downloaded new app of the year. That’s particularly impressive given that it only launched in November. Disney has revealed that the app surpassed 10 million sign-ups within its first 24 hours.

Are you a TikTok user? If so, which apps do you use to augment your TikTok experience? Let us know your selections in the comments below.

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